Purdue University police arrest suspect after reported sexual assault

Share this:

This is an archived article and the information in the article may be outdated. Please look at the time stamp on the story to see when it was last updated.

Cheng Li

Purdue University police arrest suspect after reported sexual assault

Cheng Li

WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. – Purdue University police arrested a suspect in connection with a sexual assault on campus.

The assault took place around 8 p.m. Tuesday near Hilltop Apartments, according to Purdue University police.

The university sent an alert saying police were looking for a suspect and provided a description. Around 5 a.m. Wednesday, police arrested a man.

He was identified as Cheng Li, 28, according to records from the Tippecanoe County Jail. He’s being held without bond on charges of criminal confinement and sexual battery.

According to Purdue police, Li, a postdoctoral research associate in the Department of Food Science, was acquainted with his accuser. The woman, an undergraduate international student, told police she met Li outside her apartment building around 8 p.m. According to her account, he followed her into her apartment and sexually battered her.

Police located Li at his West Lafayette residence early Wednesday morning and arrested him after questioning.

Anyone with information about the case should call Purdue University police at 765-494-8221 or the WeTip anonymous hotline at 1-800-782-7463.